


Sometimes, The Sun Rises For Someone Else

by fw_feathers (callmeren)



Series: Minako Shinden [3]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, BAMF Uchiha Mikoto, BAMF Uzumaki Kushina, Canon-Typical Violence, Canonical Character Death, Cute Kids, Drabble Sequence, F/M, Female Friendship, Gen, Good Parent Uzumaki Kushina, Good Uchiha Obito, Hokage Uzumaki Kushina, Self-Indulgent, Self-Insert, Uzumaki Kushina Lives, Uzumaki Kushina-centric, technically it still is
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-11
Updated: 2020-10-11
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:08:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,451
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26947981
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/callmeren/pseuds/fw_feathers
Summary: Maybe an AU where Kushina survives somehow? or was in a coma + wakes up & completely annihilates Konoha politically when she sees how it’s treated her and Minato’s babies, not to mention how they’re treating the Uchiha…Kushina lost everything once. She won’t let it happen again.A Kushina Lives AU ofRising With The Breaking Dawn
Relationships: Minor or Background Relationship(s), Namikaze Minato/Uzumaki Kushina, Uchiha Itachi/Original Female Character(s), Uchiha Mikoto & Uzumaki Kushina, just a little - Relationship
Series: Minako Shinden [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1966417
Comments: 37
Kudos: 309





	Sometimes, The Sun Rises For Someone Else

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Goshikku](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Goshikku/gifts).



> This one’s for you, Beq! ^_^ 
> 
> As for everyone else, this fic is super indulgent, just don’t think about it too hard :D I sure didn’t. Also, Beq asked that this have no spoilers for the main fic, and I know the jinchuuriki mystery is hanging by a shoe string, but it’s still hanging, so I circumvented the problem by not making the twins jinchuuriki at all. 
> 
> Why is Obito here you ask? Because we wanted Obi-nii and we deserve it end of story
> 
> Fic theme: Invisible Chains by Lauren Jauregui

**I.**

“I’ll take half of the Kyuubi with me, and seal the rest back into you. Your body should be able to recover with that much.”

“No… please…”

“Our children need their mother.”

“I need you!”

A clammy hand on her tear-stained face. “You’re strong. You’ll survive this too.”

“I don’t want to survive this! I don’t want to be left alone, not again!”

“You won’t. You have the twins, now.”

He drew away. The sob ripped itself from her lungs, even as she held the babies closer.

“Take care of our family, Kushina. I love you.”

**II.**

Naruto had finally stopped crying. It was the only thing Kushina had heard since she awoke. Minako had yet to make a sound, and if it weren’t for the faint sound of two breaths stirring their crib, Kushina would have dragged herself to check on her, hospital or no hospital.

Kushina stared at the plain white ceiling. She focused on her children’s breathing, and not the ache in every bone, the seal burning its way back into her coils, not the grief filling every inch of her.

The door opened. “Kushina?”

Kushina closed her eyes. Her hands curled into fists on her sheets.

“Oh, Kushina.”

The tears came, in spite of her efforts. “Mikoto,” she replied.

Warm hands cupped her cheeks, then drew her into a soft embrace. She buried her face in Mikoto’s shoulder, doing her utmost to keep the wails in, refusing to wake her children from their sleep.

“He’s gone. He’s gone, he’s gone, he’s gone, he _left me_ —”

“I know. Oh, I know.” Mikoto’s embrace tightened. She pressed a wet cheek against Kushina’s hair. “Oh, Kushina. I know.”

**III.**

Curiosity drew Itachi closer to the crib in the corner, while giving his mother and her friend a wide berth. He adjusted the baby sling around his chest. A quick pat ensured Sasuke was still snoozing away the night’s ordeal.

He’d seen babies before, of course, but they were all cousins or Sasuke. This was his first chance to see babies from outside the clan, and he wanted to see if they would look just as wrinkled as Uchiha ones. He was careful to keep his footsteps silent, like his otou-san taught—he knew how hard it was to put children to sleep. He didn’t want to wake them.

To his surprise, there was not one, but two children in the crib. Twins. They were smaller than Sasuke had been at that age, curled around each other for warmth. One had thin whisker-like marks on its cheek, with sparse blonde hair covering its head. The other’s light red hair was thicker, with black lines lining wide blue eyes.

It stared at him, unmoving.

Carefully, Itachi reached into the crib, holding out a finger. “Hi,” he said. “I’m Uchiha Itachi.” Knowing babies couldn’t talk yet, he added, “Nice to meet you.”

The redhead began to scream.

Itachi jumped back, startled at the high-pitched shriek. On the bed, the two women started. Woken by its sibling, the blond one began to cry as well. On his chest, Sasuke began to stir.

Under the cacophony, the red-haired woman began to laugh. “Minako,” she gasped, then laughed again. “I was starting to worry there was something wrong with her.”

Itachi shot his mother a pleading look. Smiling, okaa-san gestured him over. “Why don’t you push the crib here, Itachi? Let the twins see their mother.”

Gingerly, Itachi pushed the crib forward. His other hand was braced against Sasuke’s back, in a vain effort to keep him calm. Assuming Minako was the redhead, Itachi said, “I don’t think she likes me very much.”

Mikoto’s lip curled. Itachi pouted. His mother only did that when she tried not to laugh at him.

“Don’t worry, Ita-chan,” Kushina-baa-san said. “You must have surprised her, that’s all.”

Itachi doubted that, but didn’t say it out loud. After all, okaa-san said it wasn’t nice to argue with sick people. It was better to wait til after they just got better, so you could catch them off-guard.

**IV.**

“What do you mean I can’t stay with Mikoto?” Kushina demanded. “The Uchiha have offered me succor, and you want me to say no?”

Hiruzen tapped his unlit pipe against his lip, seemingly unaffected by the sight of a woman trying to breastfeed two babies at once.

“You are still a Hokage’s wife,” he said, gentle in the face of Kushina’s flinch. “Your actions carry meaning for the rest of the village. If the clans see you favoring one over the other—”

“Everyone knows Mikoto is my best friend,” Kushina said, bouncing Naruto a little too hard in her growing frustration. “The Akimichi know it, the Aburame know it, the Hyuuga know it. This is one of the four founding clans of Konoha we’re talking about. Who cares if I live with them?”

Hiruzen’s expression didn’t change. “Rumors sprung up in the wake of the Kyuubi attack,” he said.

Kushina stiffened.

“There are those who blame the attack on the Uchiha, for either controlling the beast with the Sharingan or choosing not to interfere so the Military Police can garner acclaim in its wake.”

“That’s their job!” Kushina burst out. “Who the hell is trying to blame them for doing their job well?”

“We’re trying to track down the source of the rumors.” Hiruzen lowered his pipe, pinning her with his gaze. “It does mean that enough people will grow concerned if the Kyuubi’s jinchuuriki starts living in their compound. I’m asking you to do this, for their sake.”

Rage blossomed like fire in her veins. Her chakra pathways were still too raw to channel the Kyuubi’s anger, but she imagined she could feel it anyway, bleeding into her eyes and teeth and hair. She was bound just as the Demon Fox was bound, her now-open secret trapping her in a way it never did when her status as the jinchuuriki was hidden.

“Fine,” she snapped. “You’ll have it your way, dattebane.”

The lines around Hiruzen’s eyes softened. “Thank you, Kushina-chan.”

Fool. If Minato had been alive, he would have known anyone receiving that sentence would regret it.

**V.**

“Obito,” Kakashi hissed, closing the window behind him. “What are you doing? You’re supposed to be taking care of the twins!”

Obito snorted, disturbing the wet towel he’d plastered over his face. “Kushina-san told me to take a rest. Have you seen those little hellions? I swear, Naru-chan wakes up at two in the morning just to spite me.”

“She gave birth just a month ago, idiot! She shouldn’t be doing anything strenuous!” Kakashi dumped his shopping bag full of maternity books on the coffee table. He didn’t even bother kicking the sofa as he passed, just headed straight for the hallway leading further into the apartment.

Obito raised his towel, a frown overtaking his scarred face. “She’s not doing anything strenuous, she’s sleeping! Oi, Bakashi!”

But Kakashi was already at Kushina’s door. “Kushina-san, I’m sorry about Obito.”

“Kashi-chan?” Kushina blinked the sleep from her eyes. Minako lay on her chest, while Naruto was curled in the crook of her arm. “What’s wrong?”

“We’ll take care of the kids,” Kakashi said grimly, even though all of them knew how much he hated getting tears, snot, drool, and the occasional milky barf on his clothes. “You can go back to sleep.”

The drowsiness left Kushina’s face. She pushed herself upright, frowning as Kakashi hurried to help her. “I’m fine, dattebane. I just wanted to spend time with my kids, that’s all.”

“But you need your rest,” he protested. “A lot of complications can develop after childbirth—”

“Kashi-chan.”

“—and we don’t even know how recapturing a bijuu could affect that yet. What if—”

“Kashi-chan, I—”

“—your condition worsens? You need to keep your strength up, for the twins’ sakes—”

“Kakashi!”

Kakashi’s jaw snapped shut. Kushina clasped his hand. Her gaze was soft with understanding.

“Obito-kun?” Even before his name left her lips, he was there, leaning against the doorframe with a nonchalance that fooled no one. “I’m sorry, but could you take the twins for a bit? I know I said I wanted them for this morning…”

“It’s fine,” he said, already reaching out to take the fussing Naruto. Minako ended up on his other arm, as silent and wide-eyed as always. “They can come nap with me instead. You hear that, Naru-chan? Napping! Not crying. Napping!”

Kakashi moved to join him, only to get tugged back by Kushina’s unrelenting grip. She beckoned him closer, forcing him to lean into her embrace.

Obito closed the door behind him. With a sigh, he settled back onto the couch, patting the twins back to sleep.

A few moments later, the first of Kakashi’s quiet sobs echoed down the hall.

**VI.**

“Obi-nii,” Minako insisted, her hands raised. “Up!”

Obito slumped. “Aw c’mon, Minako-chan. Can’t your Obi-nii have a break?”

“No!” She pouted at him. Her fingers wriggled. “Up!”

With an exaggerated sigh, he lifted her from the playpen. Immediately, her pout fell away. She beamed, tucking her head under his chin.

Obito ignored old scars complaining at the strain, choosing to nuzzle her instead. Sure, he just came from a mission. He’d gone from reporting in, straight to the twins’ birthday party at the Uchiha main house. He probably needed at least 14 hours of sleep. But at least Minako gave the cutest hugs.

“Man, you’re getting heavy,” he teased, bouncing her a little. “Must be nice turning three, huh?”

He felt her scowl against his shoulder.

“You sure spoil her, Obito-san.” His cousin Shisui grinned up at him, crouching just outside the play pen. Naruto giggled. Somehow, knocking his wooden block against the one in Shisui’s hand was the height of entertainment to him.

“Yeah, but have you tried not doing what she wants?” Obito rubbed the small of his back, grimacing. “She just keeps repeating herself, louder and louder. I’m sure the Inuzuka heard her from across the village at one point.”

Across from Shisui, Itachi gave Minako a disapproving look. His free hand kept his brother steady as little Sasuke practiced walking. “You shouldn’t bully him so much, Minako-chan.”

Obito resisted the urge to roll his eyes. “That won’t work,” he said. “She’s three, Itachi-kun. She won’t understand you for a while yet.”

For some reason, that made Shisui giggle. Itachi ignored him. “But she _can_ understand me,” he said. “Right, Minako-chan?”

“Look,” Obito said, an old defensiveness crawling up his spine. Years of growing up the runt of the Uchiha litter made his hold on Minako tighten. “Just because you could at that age doesn’t mean everyone can, okay? Let Minako-chan learn at her own pace.”

Itachi didn’t bother replying. He just raised an eyebrow.

Minako glared daggers at him. Then, in the clearest words Obito had heard from her yet, she said, “You’re no fun.”

Obito stilled. He drew back, raising Minako to eye level. She shrank under his stare. “Sorry,” she said, wincing. “You’re funny when I ask.”

“When you pester him,” Itachi corrected.

“When I pester you,” she repeated obediently. Her words were simple, but the meaning was clear enough.

It felt like a betrayal. Obito tried to hide it with a heartfelt groan.

“Freaking geniuses.” She smacked him in the face. “Ow!”

“Don’t be mean!”

“Oh, now you’re calling me mean?” He shouldn’t be getting this irritated at a toddler. He shouldn’t. But it snarled against that little ache in his heart, making everyone’s stares feel like thorns.

“Obi-nii’s not mean,” she amended, looking contrite. “But your words were.”

That broke through his anger. With a sigh, he pulled her close again. She started tracing the pressure scars on his collarbone, like she had as a baby. Silent apologies and forgiveness exchanged, he joined his cousins on the floor.

A thought crossed his mind. “Wait, does Kakashi know about this?”

She scowled again, burying her face in his shirt. “Caught me sneaking chocolate,” she mumbled.

“Are you telling me I’m the last to know?!”

**VII.**

“So you don’t know who’s spreading the rumors?”

In another room, Kushina crossed her arms, frowning. Mikoto knelt across from her, sipping calmly from her cup of tea. Only the keen-eyed would notice the displeased tilt to the corner of her mouth.

“Many officers have tried and failed to trace it to its source,” she said. “An Uchiha hovering obviously kills the civilians’ desire to gossip.”

Kushina tapped her lip, then nodded. “Good thing you came to me, then. Chouza-san should be willing to see me; he and Minato were teammates back in the day. I can ask if Inoichi-san knows anything about this.”

Mikoto’s shoulders lowered by a fraction of an inch. “Thank you, Kushina. Normally I wouldn’t bother you about clan business, but—”

“Oh, don’t be like that.” Kushina’s grin was all teeth. “I’m still a Hokage’s wife, after all.”

**VIII.**

“Inoichi will be with you in a moment,” Yamanaka Aiko said, setting down the tea set in front of Kushina. “I must say, it’s sweet of you to come on a friend’s behalf.”

Kushina’s eyebrow rose. So Inoichi wasn’t the type to keep his wife from his work, unlike Mikoto’s complaints about Fugaku. Honestly, she approved.

“It’s nothing. Besides, Minato—”

Her breath still hitched, after all this time. Aiko’s expression was sympathetic.

“—might be gone, but I still have my responsibility to the village. And since Biwako-sama is no longer around…” She spread her hands, letting the words speak for themselves.

Without the Hokage’s wife to take the lead, the structure of Konoha’s Allied Mothers Force broke apart. Started by Mito herself, and named as such because a shinobi wife _didn’t_ have to be a kunoichi to be a member, the AMF worked together to protect Konoha in ways its main forces weren’t entirely equipped to handle.

Aiko’s eyes sharpened. “I see. Then, I suppose you won’t mind indulging me in a little gossip until my husband arrives.”

“Oh?” Kushina leaned forward, giving Aiko her full attention. “I do enjoy a bit of gossip, every now and then.”

Like a sword being drawn from a sheathe, Aiko said, “Well, I’ve heard of this special training program for promising children. Invite-only, of course…”

**IX.**

For the first time ever, Obito was grateful for Minako’s generous lungs.

Her piercing shriek yanked him from his sleep faster than a raiton to the spine. Kakashi was already darting from his room to the twins’ door. Obito didn’t even bother; a blink of his remaining eye and he was out of the sofa and in the twins’ bedroom—

—just in time to drag a dark-clothed assailant into Kamui. He closed the portal behind him, content in knowing his attacker was going nowhere.

Kakashi had another pinned to the opposite wall. The kunoichi thrashed silently around the lightning-charged kunai in her gut. Obito ignored them, heading straight for the twins. Minako was still screaming, pinning Naruto to the bed with her full weight. Naruto was crying as well, trying to pull away from his sister’s iron hold.

“Shh, shh, it’s okay,” Obito said, bodily lifting both into his lap. “It’s okay now, Obi-nii’s got you. Kaka-nii’s here too, see? It’s alright, you’re safe now.”

Minako sniffled, raising her head. Her eyes widened. _“Obito!”_

An adamantine chakra chain crashed through the wall, drilling straight through the last attacker’s head.

Minako screamed. Obito yanked the twins closer, shielding them from the brain matter flying everywhere.

 **“Where. Are. My. Children?”** Kushina snarled. She strode through the remains of the hallway wall, her hair snaking through the air in nine distinct parts. Red eyes searched the room, until they landed on Obito. He quickly leaned back, giving the irate mother access to her weeping kids.

Slowly, the Kyuubi’s chakra receded, until Kushina’s eyes were back to their deep blue color. “Oh my babies,” she said, drawing the children to her. “It’s okay. Kaa-chan’s here now. I love you so much. It’s going to be alright.”

**X.**

The Kumo nin in the twins’ room died, along with two unknown shinobi who had tried to attack Kushina first. Through sheer luck, Obito had yanked the Kumo ambassador into Kamui, leaving the man alive to answer T&I’s many, many questions.

Which led to this.

**“YOU TRIED TO TAKE MY CHILDREN!”**

Kushina’s chains shot out, blasting though Hashirama trees ten feet thick. Out of the ensuing cloud of sawdust burst Shimura Danzo, panting from the strain of keeping up with a furious Uzumaki jinchuuriki.

**“YOU TOOK THE VILLAGE’S CHILDREN, AND SOLD THEM TO OUR ENEMIES!”**

“You don’t have what it takes to pay the price of—”

Kushina roared.

 **“Some prices aren't meant to be paid!”** Red chakra bubbled over her skin, two tails streaming behind her. **“We are Konoha! We were built to be a safe haven for our children, so they wouldn’t know sacrifice and bloodshed like we do! _That’s what a Hidden Village is for!_ ”**

Several trees away, Obito cut through his last opponent, before leaping back towards Kakashi. “You think we should step in?” he asked.

Three shuriken shot over the next ROOT agent’s head, only to be yanked into their unguarded backs by near-invisible ninja wire. Kakashi shot him a sullen look, even as he stabbed a camouflaged enemy through the neck. “You really want to get in between Kushina-san and her prey? Now?”

“Now, boys.” Scarily serene, Uchiha Mikoto twisted her fingers together. Two feet away, a ROOT agent screamed and began clawing his eyes out. “Let Kushina have her fun. Our turn will come soon.”

Somewhere below them, the Ino-Shika-Cho were wreaking havoc on the rest of Danzo’s forces. What should have been a straightforward arrest had turned into a mad dash to prevent Danzo’s escape. Which was why the Uchiha MPs were busy corralling citizens away from the battle, while their Matron got involved in the fight.

Kakashi squinted at the red storm that was Kushina and her opponent. “Obito, is it just me or is that…”

Shoving one last kunai through his opponent’s ear, Obito turned to look. He blinked, scrubbed his eye, then blinked again.

A chunk of wood pierced one of Kushina’s tails, even as familiar black and red patterns swirled on Danzo’s arm.

Mikoto snapped her fan closed, cutting off the stream of fire from its tip. Her face was white with fury.

“I’ll be right back,” Obito decided.

**epilogue.**

“They grow up so fast, don’t they?” Mikoto commented, gazing at the group of teenagers below them.

Naruto was easy enough to spot, waving his brand-new chuunin flak jacket in the air. Sasuke had already donned his. No one was fooled by his attempt to scowl. Sakura was all but bouncing with pride. Hovering over them was Kakashi, his face buried in his book as always.

Obito had left Minako to comfort her other teammates. She didn’t even notice, too busy trying to stop Shisui from messing up her hair.

She _did_ notice Itachi's approach. The way she perked up was painfully obvious, if Shisui’s sudden bout of snickering was any indication. She turned to glare at him, just in time to miss the small smile that flashed across Itachi’s face.

“There.” Kushina’s hand shot out, her finger pointed directly at her godson. “That’s why I’m betting on Ita-chan. I’m telling you, he’s a romantic at heart, dattebane! He’s just waiting for the right time!”

“Minako-chan will lose patience with him before that,” Mikoto said, hiding her smile behind her fan. “She knows how to get what she wants. Besides,” she added, cutting off Kushina’s protest, “you do realize my son is twenty-one now, right? There’s no need to call him that.”

“Nope,” Kushina declared. “I’m calling him Ita-chan til the day I die. He’s a jounin now, he can handle it.”

Mikoto giggled, but didn’t argue. They watched as the kids gathered into one group, ready to head out for their celebratory dinner.

“Aren’t you going to congratulate them?” she asked.

Kushina pressed her lips together. She shot a glance over her shoulder. “I’m not sure if I should…”

Mikoto’s eyebrow rose. “And when has that ever stopped you?”

As one, the two women shared a toothy grin. In a grand, sweeping motion, Kushina pulled off the Hokage hat, sparing it a happy, yet wistful, look.

_Do you see, Minato? I’m protecting our family, like you asked. It just got a little bigger, that’s all._

She handed it to Mikoto. “I’ll be right back,” she said, and leapt from the stadium box. Her hair fluttered like a pennant in the breeze, red as a beating heart.

“Congratulations, kiddos! Come give kaa-chan a hug!”

Two voices rose above the crowd in a pitiful whine.

“ _Kaa-chan!_ ”

**Author's Note:**

>   
> [tumblr](http://fleeting-white-feathers.tumblr.com/tagged/rwtbd) | [fanfiction.net](http://fanfiction.net/~fleetingwhitefeathers)  
> 
> 
>   
> I'd like to take this chance to thank all of you for all the support and love you've given RWTBD. You have no idea how much it means to me. Thank you!
> 
> As usual, my notes are over [here](https://fleeting-white-feathers.tumblr.com/post/631679137759789056/notes-for-sometimes-the-sun-rises-for-someone).
> 
> Also, I didn't even realize it, but happy birthday to the twins!! ^_^ 
> 
> Want to comment but not sure what to say? [click here](https://fleeting-white-feathers.tumblr.com/fyi)!


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